WE ARE CTA

325,000 MEMBERS STRONG

May 16, 2011

Governor Brown’s May Budget Revision Commits More Funding to Public Schools and Students, No Additional Cuts to Colleges

Contact: Sandra Jackson, 916-325-1550 or 801-4776.

Sacramento - David A. Sanchez, president of the 325,000-member California Teachers Association, released this statement about Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget proposal:

"The California Teachers Association commends Governor Brown for his continued support of public education, and for making restoring education funding a priority in his revised state budget plan. While the state's minimum funding guarantee for K-12 schools will be suspended in the current year, the revised state budget proposal calls for repaying that money and starts those payments next year. The additional funding to K-12 schools should allow local districts to maintain current funding levels and rescind some planned program cuts and layoffs. It's also encouraging to see that no additional cuts have been proposed to California's colleges.

"CTA continues to call for an extension of the temporary taxes approved in 2009 in order to keep our economy on track; to restore much needed jobs; and to prevent further drastic cuts to public education, public safety, health care, and other essential services. Our schools and colleges simply can't wait for a fall election to figure out their budgets. We call on all lawmakers to approve a state budget now that protects our schools, colleges and communities.”

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The 325,000-member CTA is affiliated with the 3.2 million-member National Education Association.